How fitting. The last NFS I actually played in-depth was Most Wanted on PS2. Didn't like any of the newer games as they were lame looking. This one actually looks decent. I hope it fits the bill of the last Most Wanted. Can't say I'm excited because Developers let me down now a day, but I am interested. Just praying it has a ton of customization which pulls me in. With a sprinkle of tuning, too.

Does anyone else think that it's too arcade-ish (result of being developed by Criterion, of course).

Usually i'd be very annoyed if it ended up full of dubstep, but the Criterion guys have done a great job in the past with custom soundtrack support on Burnout and Hot Pursuit so hopefully if it does end up as bad as Unbounded's tracklist (my opinion of course) they'll allow me to cut that out pretty easily... Everything else looks great though, a blend of Need for Speed and Burnout has me pretty excited

Don't go around believing that Great Wizards solve all your problems, because there aren't any and they don't and I should know because I'm not one...

Usually i'd be very annoyed if it ended up full of dubstep, but the Criterion guys have done a great job in the past with custom soundtrack support on Burnout and Hot Pursuit so hopefully if it does end up as bad as Unbounded's tracklist (my opinion of course) they'll allow me to cut that out pretty easily... Everything else looks great though, a blend of Need for Speed and Burnout has me pretty excited

They've had some good soundtracks in the past, no doubt. But that's not what my concern is, here.

Everyone is saying that NFS being more like Burnout (from what we've seen so far) is a good thing. I personally don't feel that way. In their more recent games, the NFS franchise tried simulator-oriented games (Shift1/2) but those games weren't liked much by the fans. Then their more arcade-styled game, The Run, wasn't much appreciated either. So now, the ball is being sent to a different park altogether; they're using the heavy-arcade formula of the Burnout series. This, in my opinion, is not something that should be done. I feel that they should maintain a balance between arcade and simulation.

[CENTER]You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!

They've had some good soundtracks in the past, no doubt. But that's not what my concern is, here.

Everyone is saying that NFS being more like Burnout (from what we've seen so far) is a good thing. I personally don't feel that way. In their more recent games, the NFS franchise tried simulator-oriented games (Shift1/2) but those games weren't liked much by the fans. Then their more arcade-styled game, The Run, wasn't much appreciated either. So now, the ball is being sent to a different park altogether; they're using the heavy-arcade formula of the Burnout series. This, in my opinion, is not something that should be done. I feel that they should maintain a balance between arcade and simulation.

I've liked both Shifts and The Run was enjoyable while it lasted... Absolutely ANYTHING would have been an improvement over Undercover and Prostreet in my opinion, lets not forget that the original Need for Speed games were hardly worthy of "Sim status" to begin with, infact my brother and I spent much much more time setting up spectacular multiflip crashes in the very first NFS than we did playing them properly heh

Don't go around believing that Great Wizards solve all your problems, because there aren't any and they don't and I should know because I'm not one...

Maybe you've had that moment on the highway where you pull up next to a fancy sportscar. You might think that the person driving it is probably some rich jerk, but still wonder how that Porsche or Lambo handles. Need For Speed: Most Wanted lets you take explore that fantasy in a different way. All the cars in the game will be available from the start. But like a harried commuter unexpectedly coming up on a sleek Aston Martin on the freeway, you'll have to find these cars first.
The biggest difference in Criterion's upcoming contribution to the Need for Speed franchise is that it mostly does away with the annoying grind/unlock system that plagues most racing games. You know the kind, where you drive one class of car into the ground and finally jump to another class that goes 10 MPH faster. It gets to feeling tedious, which is the last thing a racing game should feel like.

Most Wanted's designers are implementing an exploration-based car acquisition mechanic. If you drive by any of the 40 collectible cars out in the open-world city of Fairhaven, you can start driving it right away simply by pressing a button. Now, you'll still have to grind a bit to implement boost and other upgrades to the cars you get hold of in this way. Nevertheless, switching things up like this gives players another incentive to tear around Fairhaven's streets, aside from the usual racing action.

Once you've located a new car, you can jump to it immediately or set a waypoint on the in-game map that leads back to it. Each car will have specific races attached to it and you'll be able grab ten other Most Wanted cars by defeating them in races or other challenges. The Autolog social features that track your friends' progress in the game are also getting embedded into the Fairhaven environment. Every so often you'll blow by a Speed Camera; those devices not only tell you how fast you're going but also say how fast your friends were speeding when they passed it.

You'll also compete for bragging rights with the game's billboards, too. They'll be placed across the city, in positions that encourage you to jump through them. Whoever clears those gaps with the most distance will have their faces plastered on them. Crash through them further and your mug replaces that of a rival.

EA isn't talking much about NFSMW's online yet but executive producer Matt Webster told me that the competitive play will be organized into five-event collections called SpeedLists. Four event types will go into the mix of a SpeedList and standard, finish-first races will be one of those types. Team races will throw randomly selected groups against each other, letting you spot other players for your teammates, who can then take them out. And even if you finish first you can still come back and grief opponents to help better our team's outcome.

Challenge events will be familiar to anyone who played the Free Burn mode of Criterion's past Burnout games. Challenges will have players teaming up to collaborate to perform certain feats. Speed Tests are similar to those but have a 90-second time limit for you to do as many stunts as you can. You can still be taken out by other players while trying to perform as any drifts, for example, as you can. So, this event type is a mix of skill execution and avoidance.

The player who scores the most at the end of a SpeedList becomes the Most Wanted and in the next round, others earn more points for taking that person down. You'll earn ponts for everything you do in Most Wanted and Webster said that they're modeling progression on the kinds of structures you see in online shooters. Speed Points that you earn in single-player will carry over but car modifications that you earn will not.

Webster says that Criterion is aiming to make Most Wanted feel more player-driven than ever before. He says that the dev team's previous experience with Burnout Paradise showed them how distracted gameplay—the stuff you do on the way to a race, like smashing gates or finding gaps to jump—is just as fun as the main racing action. There's tons of that stuff in Most Wanted. With all cars unlocked at start and a new structure that encourages exploration, the developers hope that giving players freedom to script their own experiences will make Most Wanted a worthy follow-up to both Burnout Paradise and other games in the Need for Speed Franchise.

Here's hoping that Black Box gets one more crack and makes another Underground. I need my illegal street racing, dammit! I was excited for MW2, too. Too bad they dicked it up. Maybe bargain bin. Doubt it though with the way I play games now.

Get an exclusive inside line on the features of the Most Wanted Single Player campaign and see Fairhaven City, the game's connected open world setting, like never before.
See the new footage from Fairhaven City, home to the 10 Most Wanted drivers, who stand in your way of becoming the Most Wanted. With all cars being available at the start, if you can find it, you can drive it.
Examine firsthand how the Easy Drive system allows for truly seamless driving experience with no pausing necessary. Drive or go directly to a race's starting line, and swap cars and performance mods to suit any condition or driving style, all without ever having to leave gameplay or leaving the open-world behind. Beat the competition using all new features of Autolog 2, pull off monstrous drifts to earn Speed Points which contribute to unlocking performance modifications and secure your rank on The Most Wanted List amongst your friends and rivals.

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